Union Co. man sentenced to life in prison for 2010 murder

UNION COUNTY - A jury in Union County only took six minutes to convict a man of first-degree premeditated murder and robbery.

Tuesday, a judge sentenced Eddie Maye to life in prison without parole for the 2010 killing of Ervin Polk.

Prosecutors said Polk and Maye had been in a sexual relationship for a few years prior to the murder, and in July 2010, Maye lured Polk to a rural, wooded area of Union County under the pretense of meeting for a sexual encounter.

"All of the evidence had pointed to the fact that Mr. Maye had calculated what he was going to do. He set the whole thing up through a series of text messages with Polk," said Union County District Attorney Trey Robison.

Prosecutors said Maye planted a shotgun at the scene and robbed Maye of his bank cards and Mercedes Benz, demanding Polk's personal identification number while shooting him three times.

Jurors listened to audio excerpts from Maye's interrogation where he admitted to shooting Polk even as Polk held up his hands and begged Maye to put down the gun.

"On the day of the murder, he had absolutely no pity, no remorse that day because this, this was cold," Robison said. "Mr. Maye said he couldn't leave any witnesses and that's why he killed him."

During the two weeks of testimony, Maye's defense attorney argued Maye suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after a violent childhood at the hands of his father. The attorney claimed Polk attempted to sexually assault Maye on the day of the murder, and Maye was forced to shoot him in an act of self defense.

After the sentencing, Maye's family told Channel 9 he expected the conviction.

Maye apologized to Polk's family in court, and Polk's mother said it brought her the closure she needed.

"At first I thought he had no remorse, but he apologized today and I appreciated that," Ollie Polk Martin said.